Monument of Equator (Tugu Khatulistiwa) located in the city of Pontianak is one of major tourists attraction. Pontianak is one of the cities in the world where there is a special monument being constructed to indicate the exact location of equator line around the world.
In 1928, one international expedition led by Dutch Geographer had come to the City of Pontianak to define point of Equator Line. Thus, a monument was built in the form of pillar and arrow to define the point and line of the Equator in Pontianak. Since 1930, the monument was rebuilt and perfected so that the monument is preserved as it is today. The following picture is the original pillar and circle indicating the point and line of equator in the city of Pontianak.
Every year during March 21-23 and September 23 on noon, the shadow of the monument and other things around the monument disappear (i.e. there is no shadow). This confirm the fact that the monument lies on a 0 degree latitude. It was told that during that period, there is a major celebration on going in the city of Pontianak to celebrate the occasion.
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